Full list of women-led VC & PE funds announced in 2022
FemWealth Lists
2022 has been a record-breaking year for women-led VC firms. These are some of the top VC & PE firms that launched new funds in 2022:
January
Blossom Capital becomes Europe’s biggest Series A investor - The VC firm started by Ophelia Brown has raised its third fund of $432M to invest across fintech, consumer and Web3. Listen to this podcast w/ Ophelia Brown].
Women-Led VC Firm TMV Raises $64 Million To Back ‘Triple Bottom-Line’ Startups Benefiting The Planet - Founded by Marina Hadjipateras and Soraya Darabi the TMV, now at its second fund, invests in the care economy, sustainable solutions, transportation, financial inclusion, and the future of work. It is also helping to launch a community for women VCs, Transact Global, that includes more than 200 women-led funds. One in three businesses in TMV’s portfolio are female co-founded, and a majority is co-founded by a founder from an underestimated background.
SteelSky Ventures moves to Atlanta with $50M fund focused on women’s health - Led by Maria Velissaris, the firm focuses on investing in women’s healthcare startups
Portugal’s Indico Capital Partners launches €50M ocean tech ‘Blue Economy’ fund - co-founded by Cristina Fonseca, Indico Capital Partners was the first private institutional early-stage venture capital fund set up in Portugal
Ajim Capital Launches $10M Fund For African Companies In The Tech Space - founded by Eunice Ajim, the firm invests in pre-seed to seed tech-enabled companies across the continent
February
The Future Forerunners - Forerunner Ventures, founded by Kirsten Green, closed a new $1B fund to invest in consumer businesses
776 closes new $500M venture fund - Seven Seven Six, founded by Katelin Holloway and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, closed its second fund across two vehicles in an “oversubscribed” raise. The firm plans to invest in Web3, climate tech, space tech, food tech, and SaaS businesses. 51% of 776’s LPs identify as female, 13% as Black or Indigenous people, and 10% as Latino/a/e.
AirTree launches three new funds totaling 700M AUD - An investor in Canva, AirTree has launched three new funds totaling AUD 700M. It has a 50/50 split between men and women among partners and the broader team and tracks the deals funnel at each stage of the investment process for a mix of gender and ethnicity among founders.
Europe’s Revent hits $68M hard cap on its climate, health & impact-focused fund - Dr. Lauren Lentz is a founding partner of Revent.
Amplify Capital closes $30.7M Fund II and expands its investment team - Led by veteran private equity executive Kathryn Wortsman, the Canadian firm invests in early-stage businesses that use technology to scale solutions for society and the planet.
March
Serena Williams’s Venture Capital Fund Raises $111 Million - Serena Ventures, founded by tennis star Serena Williams, invests in early-stage startups across different verticals, including Web3.
D’Amelio family launches VC fund 444 Capital to invest up to $25M in high-growth startups
Community-first operator Lolita Taub is launching her own venture capital firm - Lolita Taub’s Ganas Ventures debut fund has a target of $9.99M and the goal to invest in 75 pre-seed and seed-stage companies based in the U.S. and Latin America.
Bootstrap Europe's debt strategy targets high-growth tech companies - Bootstrap Europe, a London-based private lender founded by Fatou Diagne and Stephanie Heller, announced the initial close of its third fund on $127 million in commitments. It aims to raise more than $200 million at the final close of Fund III.
April
Bond raises $2.5 billion for third growth equity fund - The growth equity firm was co-founded by Mary Meeker and Juliet de Baubigny as a spinout from VC firm Kleiner Perkins.
Imaginary Ventures Grows Funds Under Management to $1 Billion, Announces $500 Million Fund III and Significant Team Growth. The VC firm, co-founded by Natalie Massenet (founder of Net-a-Porter), invests in consumer technology startups. Its portfolio includes companies such as SKIMS, Glossier, Daily Harvest, and Stripe.
Voyager Ventures Raises a $100 Million Decarbonization Fund - The fund led by Sierra Peterson and Sarah Sclarsic has launched its debut fund focused on North America-based climate tech companies.
Leadout Capital raises $57.7 million to invest in ‘resilient’ founders - The firm co-founded and led by Alison Rosenthal is backed by LPs including Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Goldman Sachs’ Launch With GS, and Accolade Empowerment Fund. [Fortune $]
Seed Stage Fund Emmeline Ventures Launches with Plans to Invest in Femtech, Fintech and Sustainability - Emmeline Ventures is a multi-cultural, multi-generational, all-female early-stage investment fund, co-founded by La Keisha Landrum Pierre, Naseem Sayani, and Azin Radsan van Alebeek. The firm aims to raise $5-8M for its initial Fund with plans to invest in up to 20 businesses led by female and female-identifying founders.
Construct Capital’s $300M fund targets critical infrastructure automation - The firm co-founded by Dayna Grayson and Rachel Holt invests in companies operating in and around the manufacturing, transportation, and logistics sectors.
Tofino Capital reaches first close of $10M fund to back startups in frontier markets - The firm co-founded by Aubrey Hruby wants to back startups in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
May
Viola Credit closes $700M fund to provide asset-based lending to fintech startups - The Israeli FinTech startup and alternative credit asset manager co-founded by Ruthi (Simha) Furman provides asset-based lending capital to fintech, proptech and insurtech startups.
Pear, now nearly 10 years old and with numerous hits, looks to close its biggest fund by far - The Palo Alto, CA-based venture firm co-founded and led by Mar Hershenson is raising a fourth fund targeting $410 million in capital commitments, according to a new SEC filing.
Synthesis Capital closed its first fund with $300M, giving boost to food tech’s future - Co-founded by Rosie Wardle, the UK-based VC firm supports startups leveraging high tech to solve global food system challenges across the food value chain.
Aiming for the stars, Seaya unveils €300-million Andromeda fund to focus on sustainability - Founded by Beatriz González, Seaya is looking to raise $315.5M (€300M) for its new fund dubbed Seaya Andromeda. The fund will invest in technology-driven solutions, focusing on green tech, circular economy, agritech, and sustainable food value chain across Europe.
Educapital aims to raise a $160 million fund focused on edtech and future of work - The French VC firm Educapital, co-founded by Marie-Christine Levet and Litzie Maarek, has reached the first close of its second fund securing $105M (€100M).
Magnify Ventures Raises $52M Debut Fund Focused on the $648B Care Economy - Founded by Joanna Drake and Julie Wroblewski, the firm has raised $52 million for its debut fund to invest primarily in early-stage startups building solutions in one of the four main sectors: Future of Parenting & Family Life; Future of Work; Household Optimization; and Aging Innovation.
Chingona Ventures Lands $52M to Fund Overlooked Founders in Massive Markets - Chigona Ventures, founded and led by solo General Partner Samara Hernandez, invests in pre-seed startups, primarily founded by overlooked individuals who are focused on massive markets.
Soona Amhaz’s Volt Debuts $50M Crypto Fund Backed by Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon - The VC firm founded by Soona Amhaz has closed its second fund focused on infrastructure, DeFi, NFTs and DAOs.
Brianne Kimmel’s new $35 million fund isn’t yet tempted by all of web3 - Brianne Kimmel, the founder and solo-GP of Worklife Ventures, backs companies that help modern workers.
January Ventures Wants to Replace the Friends & Family Round - Founded in 2018 by Maren Bannon and Jennifer Neundorfer, January Ventures closed a $21M new fund to back early-stage B2B software startup.
New Zealand’s Icehouse Ventures is raising a $20 million to back female founders - The Auckland-based VC Icehouse Ventures has raised its first NZ$5 million towards a $20M target to invest in women-led startups.
Carmen Rico launches Cocoa Ventures, a VC fund designed to act like an angel - Carmen Rico, a former partner at Blossom Capital, has raised a $17 million VC fund that aims to write angel-sized cheques of $150k-500k in pre-seed and seed-stage Europe-based startups, sector agnostic.
June
Morgan Stanley, Felicis Alums Raise $450 Million for Debut Fund - Pegah Ebrahimi has launched FPV with a $450 million debut fund. The firm will invest across all stages, with an emphasis on early-stage deals, in a range of categories across consumer, enterprise, and health care.
Biospring Partners Closes Debut Fund with $245 Million of Committed Capital to Invest in Life Sciences Technology Companies - The growth equity firm founded and led by Michelle Dipp, M.D., Ph.D. and Jennifer Lum focuses exclusively on B2B life sciences technology companies.
Hannah Grey launches its $52M inaugural fund - Hannah Grey, a US-based VC firm founded and led by Kate Beardsley and Jessica Peltz-Zatulove, has closed its oversubscribed inaugural fund with $51.6M in capital commitments from several LPs, including Screendoor Partners, JPMorgan, Twitter, Carta, Stagwell Group, Insight Partners, Equity Alliance a.o.
Zinc heads toward new $41M tech-for-good fund to back pre-team talent solving big problems - Co-founded in 2017 by Ella Goldner, the London-based accelerator for diverse-led, ESG-focused companies has hit the first close of its second fund with $34M (£28M). The company aims for a final close of $41M (£33M) to invest in startups building commercial solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges.
Female-led Octopus Ventures Aims to Back Diverse Founders Across Europe - Founded and led by Kirsten Connell and Maria Rotilu, London-based Octopus Ventures has secured its first-ever pre-seed fund of £10 million to back founders building at their earliest stages across Europe, with a focus on B2B software, fintech health, deep tech and consumer.
July
Oak HC/FT Closes Fifth Fund at $1.94 Billion: Continuing our Legacy While Investing in The Future - The US-based venture firm co-founded by veteran investor Annie Lamont has closed its fifth and biggest to date fund with $1.94 billion in capital commitments. The outfit focuses on the healthcare and fintech sectors.
VC fund Variant raises $450M, doubles down on Web3 amid ‘crypto winter’ - Li Jin’s Variant has raised $450m across Seed + Opportunity funds to continue backing founders who are leveraging crypto to build net-new markets and solve user needs in better ways.
Endeavor Catalyst raises over $290 Million, backed by over 100+ high-impact entrepreneurs - The global impact investment firm co-founded and led by Linda Rottenberg has closed its largest fund to date. Since it started in 2012, Endeavor Catalyst has made 260+ investments in 35+ different markets across Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia, as well as underserved places in Europe and the United States.
Pan-European Climentum Capital to launch a €150 million Fund to support innovators accelerating the green transition - The VC firm with bases in Copenhagen, Berlin and Stockholm invests in European startups that are dedicated to cutting down CO2 emissions in a concrete, measurable and sustainable way. Dörte Hirschberg and an experienced deep tech female VC (name yet unknown publically) are part of the founding team.
London-based Vektor Partners announces €125M fund to invest in sustainable mobility startups - Isabel Falkenberg is one of the firm’s co-founders.
MAYA Capital closes second fund with $100M for early-stage Latin American startups - The Sao Paulo–based MAYA Capital is founded and led by Lara Lemann and Monica Saggioro.
Genoa Ventures Closes Second Fund, at $84M - Led by Jenny Rooke, Ph.D., Founder and Managing Director, the San Francisco, CA-based venture firm invests in early-stage companies at the convergence of biology and technology.
Austin-based True Wealth Ventures raises second fund to back women-led startups - Co-founded and led by Sara Brand and Kerry Rupp, True Wealth Ventures has closed on $35 million in new capital for their firm’s second fund. More than 80% of the LPs in both funds are women.
Solo Investor Raises $25 Million Debut Fund for Twine Ventures - The US-based VC firm, founded and led by Leshika Samarasinghe, will back purpose-driven startups in sectors such as healthcare, fintech and climate tech. (WSJ $)
Unconventional Ventures Raises Its First Fund to Back Underrepresented Founders in Europe - Led by general partners Thea Messel and Nora Bavey, the Copenhagen-based VC firm Unconventional Venture has raised its first fund of €30m to back underrepresented founders in Europe.
Coalition wants to make more women operators and investors at the same damn time- Founded by Glossier VP of Communications Ashley Mayer, Cityblock Health co-founder Toyin Ajayi, Umbrella co-founder Lindsay Ullman, and Tribe AI co-founder Jackie Nelson, Coalition, a fund and operator network designed to increase diversity on cap tables and help founders access some of the top minds in tech has launched a $12.5 million investment vehicle.
Conscience VC Launches $10M Debut Fund to Back Early-Stage, Science-led Consumer Companies
JourneyOne harvests a dope $10M fund to invest in cannabis tech - The fund led by solo manager Helene Servillon focused on pre-seed to Series A startups.
A first-time VC raised $2 million in 2 months to invest in women after Roe was overturned - Erika Lucas has launched a new firm - VEST Her Ventures - to back women-led pre-seed or seed startups in the future of work or care economy space. She is seeking to raise another $18 million by the end of the third quarter.
Kenyan VC firm FrontEnd Ventures unveils fund to back local founders - The firm co-founded and led by Njeri Muhia has raised $1 million of a $5 million target for its first fund.
August
Tech's riskiest founders are getting a $650 million bet from Redpoint Ventures - Led by managing director Annie Kadavy and managing partner Erica Brescia (formerly a COO at GitHub), the US firm has closed its ninth early-stage fund with $650M in capital commitments.
Urban Innovation Fund, VMG Catalyst among female-led firms raising new funds - Led by Clara Brenner and Julie Lein, Urban Innovation Fund has closed with commitments of $101 million for its Fund III and $20 million Opportunity Fund to invest in companies building technology to shape the future of cities. VMG Catalyst, led by Brooke Kiley has raised $400 million for its Fund II to back commerce-focused startups.
Climate-focused VC stays scorching as Buoyant Ventures targets $100M fund - Founded and led by Amy Francetic and Allison Myers, the Chicago-based Buoyant Ventures has locked down just over $50 million for a new fund and is targeting to raise another $50 million.
August
Kapor Capital, under new leadership, closes its largest fund to date - The new $126 million fund aimed to back early-stage founders of color and social impact ventures was raised by managing partners Uriridiakoghene “Ulili” Onovakpuri and Brian Dixon. They succeeded the firm’s co-founders Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein earlier this year.
Student-run VC Dorm Room Fund spins out from First Round Capital, raises $12.5M fund from Marc Andreessen, Underscore VC, Insight Partners, others (Fortune $) - Founding partner Molly Fowler is spinning DRF into its own independent firm and has raised $12.5 million from third-party LPs, including venture capitalists like Ann Miura-Ko. The firm backs student founders in the US.
September
💸 Berlin-based Extantia unveils €300 million platform to advance net zero transition - Laura-Marie Toepfer is a Partner of the climate venture firm.
💸 BDC launches $500 million Thrive Venture Fund and Lab for Women - The bank for Canadian entrepreneurs has launched the Thrive Venture Fund and Lab for Women, aiming to raise $500 million and become the largest investment platform of its kind in the world, to support Canadian women-led businesses for them to grow and have a lasting impact on the economy.
October
Moneta Venture Capital raises $120 million for new fintech and insurtech fund - Meirav Har Noy is a Managing Partner of the Israel-based firm. The new fund will back growth-stage fintech and insuretech companies.
Ex-Greylock GP Sarah Guo Announces Conviction Partners, Her New AI Fund - Sarah Guo, previously a General Partner at Greylock, has announced the first close of a $100 million debut fund for her new US-based investment firm Conviction Partners. She plans to invest in AI startups up to the Series A stage with check sizes between $1 million and $10 million.
France’s Sista announces first close of €100m VC fund - Sista, co-founded and led by Tatiana Jama, is a Paris-based organisation behind campaigns to fund female founders has announced the first close of €30m, with a final target of €100m for their debut VC fund.
Mallun Yen’s Operator Collective Raises Fund II - Operator Collective, a San Francisco-based organization founded and led by former operator Mallun Yen, has raised $92 million for its second fund to back early-stage enterprise companies.
Hustle Fund’s side hustle just helped it close a third fund - The US-based firm, co-founded by Elizabeth Yin, closed its third and biggest fund to date, with $46.1 million in capital commitments. | Also, listen to Hustle Fund GP Elizabeth Yin on Building An Investor’s Oasis with Camp Hustle | Seed to Harvest
In 2019 this VC decided to invest in diverse founders. Three years later it’s already starting a second fund - Ada Ventures, a London-based VC firm, co-founded by Check Warner, has announced a £36 million “first close” of its second fund. The firm’s portfolio has 28 companies, including Huboo, Organise, MOONHUB, SideQuest and Spill.
Fund F Debuts to Invest in Gender-Diverse Founder Teams - Lisa-Marie Fassl and Nina Wöss, founders of Vienna, Austria-based Female Founders - an organisation supporting women entrepreneurs - have launched Fund F, a new oversubscribed €20 million fund to back female and mixed-gender founded startups.
Aviva’s $10m to back female stars of fintech (The Times $) - Aviva, an FTSE 100 insurance business led by Amanda Blanc, has invested $10 million into the Anthemis Female Innovators Lab fund, the world’s largest female-focused financial technology (fintech) fund. The funds are aimed at backing female-run UK financial technology businesses.
November
Ex-Bain investor launches $30M web3 consumer VC fund as solo female founder - Magdalena “Mags” Kala is the Solo GP of the firm.
Quona Capital sinking $332M into startups focused on financial inclusion - Monica Brand Engel is a co-founder and Managing Partner of the US-based venture capital firm that invests in emerging markets that accelerate financial inclusion. Now at its Fund III, the firm invests in companies in Latin America, India, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Female-led VC firm Pact Launches Its First £30M Fund to Back Early-Stage Startups in Europe - Founded by Reem Mobassaleh Wyndham, Tong Gu, and Monik Pham, Pact VC has launched its debut £30 million ($36M) fund to invest in purpose-driven, early-stage tech startups in Europe.
December
Stella McCartney and LVMH back $200mn climate-linked venture capital fund (FT $) - British fashion designer Stella McCartney is a founding investor for the Collab SOS venture capital fund. Led by Sophie Bakalar, the $200M fund invests in early-stage startups working on sustainable materials, energy generation, and supply chain initiatives.
Baukunst Raises $100M Debut Fund - The San Francisco-based firm, co-founded by Kate McAndrew, has received $100 million in capital commitments for its debut fund - the largest-ever debut fund for a pre-seed firm. Focused mainly on North America, it will back companies at the frontiers of technology and design.
BackingMinds Raises €50M to Tap into the Overlooked and Underfunded Across the EU - Founded by serial entrepreneurs Susanne Najafi and Sara Wimmercranz in 2016, Denmark-based seed-stage venture firm BackingMinds has raised €50 million for its new fund. With plans to back entrepreneurs who are often overlooked by traditional investors, the initial check sizes will range from €500,000 to €3M.
RH Capital Raises over $40M to Tackle Reproductive and Maternal Health Equity in the U.S. - Female-led impact venture capital firm RH Capital has raised an oversubscribed second fund, bringing its total assets under management to over $40 million to tackle reproductive and maternal health equity. Tara Health Foundation, Skoll Foundation, The Impact Seat Foundation, Houssian Foundation, Argosy Foundation and The Case for Her are among the fund’s lead investors.
Privilège Ventures launches $20M fund investing in women-led startups - The Lugano, Switzerland-based venture capital fund Privilège Ventures launched its fourth fund of CHF 20 million (just over $20 million), earmarked for women-led early-stage startups across Europe. Jacqueline Ruedin Rüsch is a founding general partner at Privilège Ventures.
New Fare Partners is latest female-led VC to close first fund - Co-founded by Elly Truesdell and Hallie Bonnar, New Fare Partners has secured $20 million for its inaugural fund to back early-stage food and beverage businesses.
Adesuwa Okunbo's Aruwa Capital Raises $20M for its First Fund to Back Female-Led Startups in Nigeria & Ghana - Founded in 2019 by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Aruwa Capital Management successfully closed its first institutional fund to back female-led startups in Nigeria and Ghana. The oversubscribed fund surpassed its initial target of $20 million and is the largest first fund by a female solo GP in Nigeria.
Solo GP Nichole Wischoff raises $20M fund backed by Peter Thiel to invest in ‘unsexy businesses’ - Nichole Wischoff’s Wischoff Ventures closed a second fund of $20 million. She aims to invest in 25 to 30 US startups at the pre-seed or seed stage, innovating large legacy industries.
Kara Ventures sidefund gets underway with African investment remit and six startups in its portfolio - Réna Kakon is a co-founder of the side fund launched by French angel collective Kara Ventures. The tickets range between $25,000 to $100,000.